A journal of my random travel and points adventures as well as the journey through financial streamlining and automation. Maybe you'll even learn a few things along the way.
This is a really cool photo I took from the top of the Holiday Inn Golden Gateway, at the eastern end of the California Street Cablecar. I have no idea how I achieved this result but the outcome is much more desirable than a boring hotel view scene would have been.
The hotel is a great combination of location and value but since this was at least 2 years ago I will halt my hotel review there and leave you with San Francisco Melting!
This property was my first attempt at the IHG BRG. As previously noted the hotel disagreed that the rate I located elsewhere was match despite them both kaving the same bedding option and cancellation policy. I was expecting some pushback or lesser treatment from the property but received a warm welcome and was actually upgraded to the corner room pictured above.
The soundproofing left a lot to be desired, sirens on the street were heard clearly despite being 10+ floors up. The temperature control was confusing which led to myself alternatively freezing and cooking myself overnight, probably could be avoided had I read the guide prior to pressing buttons. The bathroom had an odd aquamarine tile pattern and an odd shower seat setup. Otherwise this was a standard issue Crowne. Service at check-in and checkout was both efficient and extremely warm.
Would I stay again? Probably, I have little need for hotels within 20 miles of my residence and would rather have variety on my next need for one. The hotel's website is here for more photos and availability. Disappointingly, depending on your perspective, the lowest rates are still found elsewhere.
2079 PC points expected to be earned plus 50 from a Foursquare check-in and I was surprised with 1000 points from the Visa commercial promo at checkout. Total haul 3129 points at a cost of free. As a serendipitous bonus, I received my confirmation email on my second BRG claim, the rate wad reduced by the property to $0.01. When IHG corporate comes through with the rebate I will once again be a dyed in the wool Priority Club promoter.
Earning miles and the the high of doing it on the cheap is great, but miles are earned to be burned. Various plans coordinated and made Saturday mileage redemption day.
I finally settled on a hotel for my upcoming trip and found the rate of $195 ($171 + 14% tax) to be both out of my price range and obscene. This is a Holiday Inn property and participates in Priority Club. One of the nice features of Priority Club is the cash and points redemption so you can pay partially with points and partially with cash. This works well for both corporate office as they get more revenue than they would from franchise fees on a paid stay and the traveler also pays less. The individual property owner loses out as they will get a pittance instead of $171 for my stay. This could alternatively be viewed as they get a pittance over nothing as I would not pay that price.
I redeemed 5,000 Priority Club points in conjunction with $60 for the room. In this case each point is worth 2.7 cents, I am quite impressed with getting this value.
The second redemption of the day was Amtrak travel from Los Angeles to San Diego. The cash price for this is $31 or $27.90 with AAA discount. The price is high considering the distance and my hotel in San Diego is higher than I would like so I burned some Amtrak points for this trip. 1,000 points to be exact as the routing is on the Pacific Surfliner, a route Amtrak considers to be primarily commuter use so much lower than other redemption options. At 2.8 cents per point this is not a great value but it is acceptable and keeps cash in my pocket. I also get this view, priceless.
The third redemption was for a flight for part of the Grand East Coast tour. 12,500 American miles and $5 for the TSA goons got me a flight routing that is retailing at $354. There are cheaper flights that are acceptable to me so it is not correct to value based on the routing I have. $210 is the lowest priced acceptable alternative so I'll use that as my basis for valuation, 1.65 cents per mile. Again that is acceptable but not great and May is going to busy so cash staying in my pocket is a good thing.
18,500 miles/points no longer with me for $370 in travel value. A productive weekend indeed.
Today I received and email from Bose pitching their new Bluetooth headset thing. Watch a video and take a short one question quiz and get 150 AA miles, the miles gods are looking favorably upon me. If you go to an in store demo/sale pitch you can get a certificate for another 250 miles. The last time a Bose offer came out I did the pitch in the airport and found it a little high pressure for my liking. There is zero chance of me getting a headset so I may hit up the MSP kiosk next week for some more free miles. If you are not flying by 1/17, there is a store in the MOA which should also offer the certs.
Mt cousin's sister's barber also graced me with another MCR code today. Total 2011 YTD haul is 3,200 PCR, 150 AA. I think a reasonable goal for the end of the year will be 125,000 miles/points from any source.
The miles and points counter all rolled back to zero yesterday. I went bug-eyed when I saw my Continental account and briefly thought I lost all my miles. Fortunately I was just not looking in the right place, they are all safe and sound.
I was also proactive in removing the zero on my Priority Club account, I stashed away a MyCokeRewards code early this year with the intent of entering it on January 1 when it mattered. I also redeemed some E-Rewards cash I had been building up waiting for the new year. Without leaving home I have racked up 2,700 Priority Club points on the first day of 2011. That is one third of the way to a free night at Holiday Inn.
I take to the skies California bound for the first time this year on January 13, same date as last year. This year I don't have a wedding and bachelor party to attend so I am not going to duplicate the "10,000 miles of January" I did last year. Unfortunately, that means I am going to present for more of Minnesota winter but will not be tired to the point of sleeping through any takeoffs.
